In the current economy a lot of people seem to be getting bikes. They’re supposed to be cheaper to buy and the running expenses, particularly gas, are supposed to be less. I don’t really know if that’s true or not, there are certainly plenty of people out there arguing both sides of that quetion, but one thing is certain (maybe), and that there are supposedly more people getting into riding.

While I’m not going to get into that discussion, something I think everyone getting into bikes should know, is what safety gear they should wear. I know it’s largely a personal choice, except of course where government has determined they know better and tell us what to wear, but an awareness of the equipment and how it effects our safety is something we should all know about before swinging our legs over the bike.

The ultimate decision is, of course, up to the individual, but to make that decision we need to know what exactly we’re dealing with and how it can help or hinder us.

To start with, why not start at the top with the most contriversal item, the helmet. If you’re lucky enough, you live in a place where you have the option to wear one. The biggest problem I see with this though is that in those places it actually becomes harder to wear a helmet because people tend to apply pressure to not wear one. And I’ve seen myself people who would normally wear one but because of peer pressure end up not wearing one. It’s an unfortunate situation and I do hope that more people will do what they think is best for themselves and to hell with what other people think.

If you are going to wear one, because you have to or want to, you still have to decide what sort you will wear. Now, before we go any further, let’s just forget about those toy helmets (aka novelty) that you see around. You’d be better off just wearing an ice cream bucket over your head as far as protection goes, and their only real use is to make you look silly/different. And don’t fool yourself that it makes you look cool or tough or whatever. Unless you’re 7 feet tall and built like a bear people are going to laugh at you, to your face or behind your back.

Okay, for a serious helmet I say go for a DOT approved helmet for the right type of protection. If you want to go for Snell approval go for it, but from what I’ve read (there was a study a few years ago comparing helmet use and motorcycle injuries, but I can’t remember now where I read it) they seem to be too rigid and can be worse in some cases than no helmet. But that’s just my opinion, so do with it what you will.

The next choice is the design, basically full face or open. Most people seem to base their choice on the type of bike they read, sports bike = full face and cruiser = open face (yes I now there are other types of bikes, I just don’t care about them ;-P). Personally I don’t care about the type of bike and wear a full face even though I ride cruisers (I used to own sports bikes before moving up), which I do mostly because my eyes tend to water copiously when using an open face, but I also feel that the full face does offer a bit more protection to my face if I ever come off (ironically the only time I have come off, I landed on my back after a full flip, it was quite a spectacular acrobatic stunt I’ve been told). The thing is, I think people should make their own decisions and forget what everyone else says/thinks, it’s your head/life on the line.

Okay, I was going to continue on down the body but it seems I’ve been running on a bit, so I’ll leave it here for now and continue a bit later when I’ve got more time. Until next time…

Technorati Tags: motorcycle helmets

These great looking sunglasses seem to be turning up everywhere these days. And if you’re anything like me, one of the first places you saw Gatorz sunglasses, it was on the face of someone in the military during another news story about the war going on, or maybe it was that democracy thing that happened in East Timor a few years ago. Actually, now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure it was an Australian soldier that in Timor where I first saw them. Of course, it doesn’t really matter where I was first exposed to them, the thing is these look good and got my attention.

So are they really that good that the militaries around the world are using them (or very similar looking sunglasses anyway). I can’t tell you how good they are for military purposes since I’m not currently serving. But I can tell you they do the job. No not of looking good, at least not just that, but they function exactly like a good pair of sunglasses should work.

When in bright sunlight, they keep the light out of my eyes and when I go into dim areas I can still see clearly. Which is great on a bike, because it’s relatively difficult to put on and remove sunglasses, especially when wearing a helmet.

I’ve found them extremely comfortable to wear, fitting snug to the face, and they feel light and durable enough. Although I haven’t run over them with a truck (yet) they feel like they could withstand quite a bit of abuse. Not that I regularly abuse my things, but I do have a 3 year old that is practicing for a future in demolition (don’t ask me about my old computer, it still brings tears to the eyes).

Overall I like Gatorz sunglasses and have no hesitation in recommending them, and they’ve got a few different designs that can help reflect (reflect? see what I did there? okay, I’ll go away now) your personality.

Technorati Tags: biker sunglasses, Gatorz Sunglasses, mirrored sunglasses, solar shield sunglasses, wraparound sunglasses

So Black Friday is once more upon us and the gift buying season begins. Not to be left out, Harley Davidson have released this years gift guide for all of us into bikes and the biker culture.

So what does Harley Davidson have in store for us this year. Well, taking a quick look at the guide tells me that there are items from every possible area of products available for us to get our loved ones, or for them to get for us if the planets are aligned right.

Starting the guide of are some HD jackets, belt and wallet that absolutely scream HD. Don’t get me wrong, I love HD but they can sometimes go a little overboard in the branding.They do look nice though and if the branding had been toned down a bit would have been even better.

Moving on, we have some more clothing that isn’t as obviously HD, yet is still nice and stylish and not nescessarily linked to bikers. Althoug this will probably turn off those just looking for the look and not the functionality. There’s also the ubiquitous jewelry made for the better half (the old lady that SOA has seemingly popularised in the non-biker sect). Why they don’t have anything for men, I can’t say, but they do have some HD glasses that we can use. As well as tree decorations and knick knacks, like a piggy bank (you know like hogs and pigs are kinder similar?) that my 3 year old son would probably destroy in less time than it took me to write this sentence. It would look nice on my mantel though.

After that it’s mostly stuff for the bike, so if you’re not a rider then it won’t hold much interest except maybe for the page of bags that I guess could probably be used without a bike.

Anyway, if you’re interested, head on over to Harley Davidson and check out what’s on offer.

Technorati Tags: Biker Clothes, Harley Davidson clothing

In the strange ways that these things happen, this is the second app I’ve heard about in the last week that links an iPad to a TV show. The first was an Oprah app and, due to a lack of interest on my part, I didn’t check that out to see what it does or how it works. This app for the Sons of Anarchy show on the other hand has more interest.

From what I know, they both seem to work in similar ways. By using the microphone on the iPad the app can know where in the episode you are and bring up information for you. What the Oprah app does I have no idea, but for this one it seems that it will bring up information (and the option to buy) about the clothes that the actors are wearing.

It probably won’t cover everything, so if you’re interested in what panties that girl might be wearing you’re going to be out of luck. But for those who would like to emulate the looks of their favorite characters, this app could help immeasureably in getting exactly the right items. Even if you don’t end up buying through the app (are the app writers getting commissions?) it will give us a place to start in getting the best deals.

At this time it also looks like it will work with the Season 3 Blu-Ray disc, but will work with BD Live when watching the disc. If you don’t have BD Live then this option won’t work. I don’t know enough about this technology to say why they couldn’t use audio cues from the Blu-ray, but it seems it either can’t or won’t work this way.

An added feature to this app is that it will reportedly include additional behind-the-scenes extras. What this entails is anyones guess, but we can all find out when episode 9 airs next week.

For fans of the show, this looks like an interesting app, and the fact that it’s free means there’s no harm in trying it out.

Technorati Tags: Biker Clothes, ipad apps, soa, Sons of Anarchy

I was just checking my email and it seems Amazon now has a private fashion and home sale site. I didn’t think much of it, but thought I’d go and check it out anyway.

They say they offer up to 60% off on designer and boutique brands, including apparel, shoes, jewelry, accessories and even home accessories and decor, and after a quick browse it seems there are some quite good deals on there.

I’m not to sure what the home accessories and decor stuff is, but I’m pretty sure I know what the other stuff is.

So I went over and checked it out. For those of us into biker clothes, it doesn’t offer a great deal, but there are a few items such as jackets that look quite nice, including the jacket pictured above. According to the listing it’s made of 100% leather, which is a good start, especailly for those of us that like the new leather smell, not so good if you’re a member of peta. Also has the requisite zips, pockets and studs on the neck that make it stand out. Overall it’s a nice jacket, although I doubt it’s made to actually use on a bike and probably doesn’t give protection that that requires.

There are also some nice t-shirts there to check out

To have a closer look, head over to MYHABIT now and see what they’ve got on offer.

Technorati Tags: Biker Clothes, muhabit